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European agricultural policy requires a stronger performance framework to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

Scown, Murray W. LU and Nicholas, Kimberly A. LU orcid (2020) In Global Sustainability 3.
Abstract

Non-technical summary Agriculture provides many benefits to people, such as producing food and creating jobs in rural areas, but it can also have negative impacts on the environment. We analysed existing monitoring indicators for the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to evaluate whether the CAP is effectively achieving multiple social and environmental goals. We found that the current CAP monitoring system is unable to balance many potentially competing goals because its indicators are biased towards a few objectives. We suggest the European Union and its Member States adopt a broader set of indicators covering clear targets when the policy is reformed after 2020. Technical summary Agriculture is crucial to achieving the... (More)

Non-technical summary Agriculture provides many benefits to people, such as producing food and creating jobs in rural areas, but it can also have negative impacts on the environment. We analysed existing monitoring indicators for the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to evaluate whether the CAP is effectively achieving multiple social and environmental goals. We found that the current CAP monitoring system is unable to balance many potentially competing goals because its indicators are biased towards a few objectives. We suggest the European Union and its Member States adopt a broader set of indicators covering clear targets when the policy is reformed after 2020. Technical summary Agriculture is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the ambitious claims for the sector’s contribution have not been sufficiently scrutinized. We use existing measurable policy indicators for the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to systematically align the policy with the SDGs. We find that current CAP indicators focus on three goals: zero hunger (SDG 2), decent work (SDG 8) and life on land (SDG 15). Important SDGs are entirely missing from the agricultural indicators, including health (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5), oceans (SDG 14) and institutions (SDG 16), contradicting recent reports proclaiming agriculture’s contribution to all SDGs globally. We analyse the alignment of CAP indicators across policy stages and between CAP Pillars, finding that the SDGs are best covered by CAP Target, Result and Impact indicator sets, and in Pillar II of the CAP supporting rural development. More transparent and objective assessment by the European Union and its Member States using measurable indicators is needed in order to ensure evidence-based policy supports agriculture and other sectors to achieve their widely touted potential to contribute to the SDGs. Social media summary The EU’s Common Agriculture Policy indicators are not well aligned to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Common Agricultural Policy, EU Member States, Monitoring and evaluation, Policy coherence, Science policy, SDGs, Trade-offs
in
Global Sustainability
volume
3
article number
e11
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85088865380
ISSN
2059-4798
DOI
10.1017/sus.2020.5
project
Sustainable Land and Food Systems
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0adbfc90-f6cb-483c-b4e9-621e78c2c34e
date added to LUP
2021-01-07 12:39:27
date last changed
2023-09-10 17:17:01
@article{0adbfc90-f6cb-483c-b4e9-621e78c2c34e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Non-technical summary Agriculture provides many benefits to people, such as producing food and creating jobs in rural areas, but it can also have negative impacts on the environment. We analysed existing monitoring indicators for the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to evaluate whether the CAP is effectively achieving multiple social and environmental goals. We found that the current CAP monitoring system is unable to balance many potentially competing goals because its indicators are biased towards a few objectives. We suggest the European Union and its Member States adopt a broader set of indicators covering clear targets when the policy is reformed after 2020. Technical summary Agriculture is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the ambitious claims for the sector’s contribution have not been sufficiently scrutinized. We use existing measurable policy indicators for the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to systematically align the policy with the SDGs. We find that current CAP indicators focus on three goals: zero hunger (SDG 2), decent work (SDG 8) and life on land (SDG 15). Important SDGs are entirely missing from the agricultural indicators, including health (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5), oceans (SDG 14) and institutions (SDG 16), contradicting recent reports proclaiming agriculture’s contribution to all SDGs globally. We analyse the alignment of CAP indicators across policy stages and between CAP Pillars, finding that the SDGs are best covered by CAP Target, Result and Impact indicator sets, and in Pillar II of the CAP supporting rural development. More transparent and objective assessment by the European Union and its Member States using measurable indicators is needed in order to ensure evidence-based policy supports agriculture and other sectors to achieve their widely touted potential to contribute to the SDGs. Social media summary The EU’s Common Agriculture Policy indicators are not well aligned to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.</p>}},
  author       = {{Scown, Murray W. and Nicholas, Kimberly A.}},
  issn         = {{2059-4798}},
  keywords     = {{Common Agricultural Policy; EU Member States; Monitoring and evaluation; Policy coherence; Science policy; SDGs; Trade-offs}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Global Sustainability}},
  title        = {{European agricultural policy requires a stronger performance framework to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/sus.2020.5}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/sus.2020.5}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}